The objective of the present article is to study the influence of TiB2 addition on the transformation behavior of yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP). A range of TZP(Y)–TiB2 composites with different zirconia starting powder grades and TiB2 phase contents (up to 50 vol%) were processed by the hot-pressing route. Thermal expansion data, as obtained by thermo-mechanical analysis were used to assess the ZrO2 phase transformation in the composites. The thermal expansion hysteresis of the transformable ceramics provides information concerning the transformation behavior in the temperature range of the martensitic transformation and the low-temperature degradation. Furthermore, the transformation behavior and susceptibility to low-temperature degradation during thermal cycling were characterized in terms of the overall amount and distribution of the yttria stabilizer, zirconia grain size, possible dissolution of TiB2 phase, and the amount of residual stress generated in the Y-TZP matrix due to the addition of titanium diboride particles. For the first time, it is demonstrated in the present work that the thermally induced phase transformation of tetragonal zirconia in the Y-TZP composites can be controlled by the intentional addition of the monoclinic zirconia particles into the 3Y-TZP matrix.
